“We have succeeded in freeing 215 people,” the largest since the February 24 invasion by the Russian army, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian presidential services, told state television.
Ukraine’s government announced on Wednesday the exchange of 215 military personnel, including officers who led the defense of the Azovstal steelworks, a battle that is for Kyiv a symbol of resistance to Russia’s military invasion.
“We have succeeded in freeing 215 people,” the largest since the February 24 invasion by the Russian army, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian presidential services, told state television.
Russia, for its part, secured the release of 55 prisoners, including Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian parliamentarian believed to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and facing charges of high treason, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech last night. .
As part of this “long-planned operation”, five officers, including the chief of defense in Azovstal, were transferred to Turkey, Mr Zelenskiy added.
They will remain in this country “in absolute safety and in comfortable conditions” as “the end of the war” by virtue of an agreement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the head of the Ukrainian state also clarified.
Ten foreign prisoners of war — including five British and two American — who were flown to Saudi Arabia earlier yesterday as part of this exchange between Moscow and Ukraine were part of the deal, according to Mr Zelensky.
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